Dear Abigail
by trixyflixy
Summary: An unexpected letter given to Abby on the eve before her 18th birthday was not the gift she had imagined. **One-shot**


"Abby? Could you please come here?" called Mrs. Stevenson from her bedroom. She waited until her daughter entered the room before she produced an envelope from her dresser drawer. "Now honey, what I'm about to give you, I want you to take the time to read. I plan on giving a similar letter to Anna when she returns from music camp. I want you to know that this is going to be very difficult for you to read but you will be 18 tomorrow and I feel this is the best time to give this to you."

Abby brushed her curly, dark hair out of her eyes impatiently with her hand as she approached her mother. She could feel her heart pounding so fast it felt like it would burst out of her chest. She watched her mother's eyes fill with tears as she slowly reached out to take the envelope that was handed to her.

As Abby settled into her window seat in her bedroom, she couldn't help noticing her name "Abigail" written in unfamiliar handwriting on the envelope. She took a deep breath as she opened the envelope and took out a letter written in the same unfamiliar handwriting.

_Dear Abigail,_

_You don't know me but my name is Joseph Bowerson. On February 05, I was at my sister's house helping to repair her furnace. Her husband had left her and she did not have the money to have it professionally repaired. You know how cold New York can be in February and I couldn't let her or her kids freeze. I work the night shift as an orderly and went right to my sisters after I left the hospital. I know I should have just stayed a t her house to sleep for a couple hours before driving home but I just wanted to get home to see my wife, to let my dogs out and sleep in my own bed. That afternoon, I was driving home and I fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I heard a loud blast from a horn. I had crossed the center line and before I could react I had crashed nearly head-on into a sedan. As you may have figured out by now, that sedan was driven by your father, Daniel Stevenson… _

_I was able to exit my vehicle and I immediately ran over to your father's car as a passerby shouted that they would call 9-1-1. I think your father knew that he wasn't going to be conscious much longer which is why he grabbed my hand and begged me to do him a favor. That favor Abigail, was to write you and your sister Anna a letter letting you know how much he loved you. Your father asked me to tell you that he will always be there for you. He said he would not be there in body to watch you celebrate your Bat Mitzvah, or get your driver's license or walk you down the aisle on your wedding day, but he would be there in your heart. He wanted me to tell you and your sister to never doubt yourself, to follow your dreams and to never compromise your beliefs. He asked that you and your sister convince your mother to visit the Grand Canyon even though he won't be next to you. But when you are looking over the beautiful sight and you feel the wind in your hair, that will be him, letting you know he is ok._

_Abigail, I don't know why things happen the way they do. I wish more than anything it had been me that awful day. I wish I never gotten in that car. I wish you and your sister had been able to say goodbye to your father. Every single day, for the rest of my life, I will regret making the decision of getting in my car that day. I just want you to know that I am not a monster. I am not a drunk who was driving under the influence. I am just a man who was trying to help his sister in her time of need. I work hard to support my wife who is pregnant with our first child, a boy._

_I know this letter will not bring your father back. I know it will not ease your pain. In fact I don't even know when your mother will give you this letter. . I didn't know your father; I do know however, that your father loved you all more than you will ever know. My wife and I plan on naming our son Michael Daniel Bowerson so that his name will be a reminder that being a parent is about loving your children with your whole heart and they will be what you think about all the time, even as you take your last breath._

_Joseph Bowerson_

Abby looked out her window as the unshed tears spilled from her eyes, down her cheeks. She hugged her knees to her chest and sobbed as she remembered that fateful night nearly 9 years ago when her mother woke her and Anna to tell them her father was killed. She stood up slowly and walked to her closet where she found a shoebox filled with photos.. She quickly rifled through the photos until she found the one she was looking for. The picture was of when she and Anna were 14 and standing with their mother along the edge of the Grand Canyon. She squinted her eyes as she tried to get a better look at the photo. She could see how happy and relaxed they looked as their hair blew gently in the wind with the vast canyon behind them. Abby wiped her eyes and smiled feeling a peace come over her that she hadn't felt in a very long time.


End file.
